But former NFL coach Jon Gruden said: “I was disappointed in Worthy this year. I wanted to like him. He played too high, not very much stamina, and I just didn’t see enough production and too many penalties.”

Gruden then asked for the opinion of former Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian.

“I’m high on this guy," Polian said of Worthy. "I think he’s got incredible power, as evidenced by the statistics on the weights, but more importantly he turns that power into speed and explosion. This guy is a force. He’s not consistent yet, and he’s not mature yet. Probably should have stayed in school. But the bottom line is this guy is a force.”

Worthy, a consensus first-team All-America, was considered a possible selection of for the Denver Broncos, but they traded out of the first round Thursday and then took defensive tackle Derek Wolfe from Cincinnati with the 36th overall pick in the second round.

Worthy helped the Spartans win 11 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. He made 30 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in 14 games as a junior.

Worthy started 38 of 40 career games in three seasons at Michigan State and made 107 tackles, 27.5 tackles for losses (118 yards) and 12 sacks (78 yards). He also had six pass break-ups and three blocked kicks.

Worthy became MSU's first All-America first-team selection at defensive tackle since Ronald Curl in 1971 and the school's first All-Big Ten first-team selection at the position since Travis Davis in 1989. He is also the first Spartan defensive lineman to earn AP first-team All-America honors since Bubba Smith in 1966.